THE BOURNE IDENTITY, unlike the movie, mistaken identity is not life or death… although it can feel like it. Do you know who’s auditioning you, not just their name, but their face? Like the movie, you are at a disadvantage, the c.d.. knows what you look like. Eventhough it’s not necessary to put a face to a name of the person giving you an audition, it’s not in your best interest to assume with blind confidence you know which person is the casting director. Is it the person in the room behind the camera? Is it the person who may pop their head in the room and interrupt your audition? Is it the person that walks through the lobby with a look of self-importance as they head to one of the sessions? Or is it that person on the other end of the phone who rings in after your first take and tells the camera operator something cryptic before your second take? Guess what? It could be any one of these people or none of them.
When I’ve been running a session people have said to me, “thanks for the audition Ross”, or “are you Ross or Lacy?” or “so you’re a casting director and and an actor?” Unlike other professions, I think this is the only business where the people looking for jobs (actors), don’t know who is auditioning them for a job (session runner/camera person or casting director).
My advice, is to just ask the person who is auditioning you their name, “You’ve auditioned me a bunch of times, but I never bothered to ask your name…” It’s that simple, and if they aren’t the casting director, ask them what the c.d. looks like if you’re really curious.
It’s not that a casting director won’t bring you in because you have mistaken their identity, but it will save you an avoidable embarrassing moment by not assuming you know which person is responsible for giving you an audition.